Collegiate Times

Logan Thomas (3) leads the Hokies onto the field.

Eight total yards, zero first downs and zero points.

Virginia Tech’s first quarter offensive production against Wake Forest last Saturday may have been bad enough to put its coaches into question with the man upstairs.

“There’s a time on the sideline there, early going on that borderline I lost my Christianity,” said Bryan Stinespring, offensive coordinator on Tech’s radio station, following the game.

It was a shocking development for a team that had, just one week earlier, scored 38 points and silenced the critics on play-calling decisions and the performance of quarterback Logan Thomas.

Nonetheless, the Hokies had been through this same song and dance.

Last season, Tech erased two double-digit deficits in ACC play against North Carolina State and Georgia Tech. The Hokies also took the lead after falling behind 17-0 to Boise State in the season opener, although eventually losing.

Yet this time, the comeback was on the shoulders of Thomas, not former Hokies signal-caller Tyrod Taylor.

Tech also learned midway through the first quarter that All-American cornerback Jayron Hosley would miss the remainder of the game with a hamstring injury.

Defensive coordinator Bud Foster was already without the services of three starters against Wake Forest — defensive end James Gayle (ankle), defensive tackle Antoine Hopkins (torn ACL) and linebacker Jeron Gouveia-Winslow (foot). Both Hopkins and Gouveia-Winslow were ruled out for the season because of the severity of their injuries, and Gayle didn’t even make the trip to Winston-Salem.

With Hosley — one of the Hokies’ best defenders and playmakers on the defense — ruled out, the pressure on the offense amplified.

Thomas not only responded by leading the Hokies to a comeback victory, but the offense roared back from its first quarter woes. As head coach Frank Beamer put it, nobody “panicked” (or ended up actually losing their Christianity).

Tech scored 38 points and gained 465 total yards, and Thomas scored four touchdowns (two passing, two rushing) in the final three quarters.

The development of the Hokies offense into a potent threat the past two weeks has injected life into a previously embattled team.

It seems like an eternity ago Tech was trudging off a cold and rainy Worsham Field after a 23-3 loss to Clemson. Yet Thomas, running back David Wilson, Tech’s offensive line and corps of receivers are firing on all cylinders, and the Hokies have gotten back to the offensive production they had last season with Taylor at the helm.

In addition, the Hokies appear to be using a very similar formula to the one that got them to the ACC Championship last year.

Last season it was the leadership of Taylor and the strength of the running game that blazed the trail to Charlotte. This year, Thomas has assumed the role of the mobile and strong-armed leader for the offense while Wilson is the Hokies work horseback.

Wilson is fifth in the country in rushing yards, with 903. Through seven games, he has rushed for more yards than Ryan Williams did in his spectacular 2009 campaign. 

Most importantly, Tech has controlled the clock to keep pressure off its banged-up defense. In fact, the Hokies rank fifth in the country in time of possession, and last season, they finished 17th.

With five games remaining on the regular season schedule, including two primetime ESPN matchups, the Hokies have their work cut out for them. 

Georgia Tech’s upset loss to Virginia also gave the Hokies a huge boost in the Coastal division this past weekend, effectively washing out the loss to the Clemson Tigers because they play in the Atlantic.

Last season, the Hokies played Wake Forest the same weekend and reeled off six straight victories after beating the Demon Deacons (including the ACC Championship), leading to berth in the Orange Bowl.

Now all eyes are on Thomas to get the Hokies back there.

A version of this article appeared in the Oct 18 issue of the Collegiate Times.